Francis Bacon, Viscount Saint Alban

Art Historical Context

This engraving presents Francis Bacon, Viscount St. Alban, the influential English philosopher, statesman, and pioneer of the scientific method. Created after an original portrait by Flemish artist Paulus van Somer I, who worked at the English court in the early seventeenth century, the print preserves the likeness of a man whose writings helped shape modern empirical thought. Though the exact date remains unknown, such reproductions were common ways to circulate images of notable figures beyond the elite circles that commissioned painted originals. As an engraving measuring just 18.2 by 11.6...